Lainey Wilson Owns The Night At The 2023 CMT Music Awards

Lainey Wilson owned the night at the 2023 CMT Music Awards where she took home two trophies and performed her chart-topping hit, “Heart Like A Truck.” 

The country superstar earned one of the first belt buckles of the night when she took home the award for Collaborative Video of the Year for “wait in the truck” with HARDY. 

Later in the evening, Wilson’s “Heart Like A Truck” music video was crowned Female Video Of The Year, beating out Carly Pearce (“What He Didn’t Do”), Carrie Underwood (“Ghost Story”), Gabby Barrett (“Pick Me Up”), Kelsea Ballerini (“HEARTFIRST”), Maren Morris (“Humble Quest”) and Miranda Lambert (“Actin’ Up”).

“My heart is about to beat right out my chest, I’ll be honest with y’all,” she began. “This song right here is about finding freedom and strength, it’s about not being afraid of the scratches and the dents and the bumps along the way. We all got a story to tell y’all, and I’m so proud of this music video. It was filmed, produced, written, and directed by all women. Can I get a come on, now?”

She went on to share a heartfelt thank you to those who helped her along the way. 

“It is so wild and I just wanna say, first of all, thank you Jesus for this opportunity, and I wanna say thank you CMT for literally believing in me before a lot of folks did. But I also wanna say thank you so much to the fans. I feel like I’m watching my dreams come true right before my eyes, truly, y’all. This is for y’all. I love y’all so much. Thank you. God bless y’all.”

During the show, she had a chance to showcase her vocal talents with a performance of the song. 

Wilson, who co-wrote “Heart Like a Truck” alongside Trannie Anderson and Dallas Wilson, released the track in May of 2022. 

“This is a song about finding freedom in strength, and not being afraid of your scars and bruises. A truck that has hit a few bumps and earned a few scratches has proved itself and its tenacity…the shiny one on the lot can’t say that,” Lainey previously explained. 

The song’s clever lyrics compare a heart to a truck and acknowledge that it’s okay to experience heartache. Through it all, the most important thing to remember is to keep going. 

“I got a heart like a truck/ It’s been drug through the mud/ Runs on dreams and gasoline/ And that old highway holds the key/ It’s got a lead foot down when it’s leavin’/ Lord knows it’s taken a hell of a beatin’/ A little bit of love is all that it’s needin’/ But it’s good as it is tough/ I got a heart like a truck,” Wilson sings on the chorus.

The tune appears on Wilson’s sophomore project, Bell Bottom Country, which arrived on October 28 via BBR Music Group/Broken Bow Records. The album features 14 tracks, including “Heart Like A Truck,” “Watermelon Moonshine,” and “Live Off.”

Co-hosted by Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, the 2023 CMT Music Awards featured performances from Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, and Tyler Hubbard. 

Additionally, the show included one-of-a-kind collaborations, including a 10th anniversary of CMT Next Women of Country celebration featuring Alanis Morissette with Lainey Wilson, Ingrid Andress, Madeline Edwards, and Morgan Wade. Gwen Stefani and Carly Pearce joined forces for a special collaboration, while Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown teamed up for the television premiere of their chart-topping duet, “Thank God.” 

The Black Crowes and Darius Rucker delivered a first-time collaboration of “She Talks To Angels,” and Wynonna Judd and Ashley McBryde will also take the stage together. 

The show also included a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan from Gary Clark, Jr. and a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute from Billy Gibbons, Chuck Leavell, Cody Johnson, Paul Rodgers, Slash & Warren Haynes and LeAnn Rimes & Wynonna Judd as honorary “Honkettes.”

Rising stars Avery Anna, Chapel Hart, Jackson Dean, Lily Rose, Nate Smith, and Megan Moroney made their CMT Music Awards performance debut on the Ram Trucks Side Stage.  

Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Charles Esten, Dixie D’Amelio, Dustin Lynch, HARDY, Ian Bohen + Jen Landon (Yellowstone), Jon Pardi, LeAnn Rimes, Madison Bailey (Outer Banks), Max Thieriot (Fire Country), Megan Thee Stallion, Noah Schnapp (Stranger Things), Parker McCollum, Peter Frampton, Shania Twain, Steve Howey (True Lies) and Travis Kelce appeared as presenters. 

The coveted awards show aired live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on Sunday, April 2 at 8/7c on CBS. It was also available to stream live and on-demand via Paramount+.